Author: James A Brown III
Father Provious Del Ladra stared out the window at the green planet. His hands were clasped in front of him, his eyes closed and head bowed.
βAnd please, Father, bless the 237th, especially Commander Nadia Ryes, as they protect your works so that these people can be brought to your everlastingβ¦β
There was a soft succession of chimes, gently noodling around a central tone.
ββ¦ light and love. Please look out for their safety and please return them to us unscathed. If that isnβt possible β¦β
Again, the chimes.
ββ¦ then take their souls into your loving embrace and, if you will, grant them an eternity of warmth as reward for their devotion and dedication to your war against the Californs. Amen.β
He unclasped his hands and turned to the door. βEnter,β he said.
βPlease excuse the interruption, Father Del Ladra.β The woman bowed deeply, her bare head reflecting green from the window.
βWhat is it Attendant Theodre?β
βFather, Iβve been sent to inform you that weβre losing. The 88th and 237th have been overrun and none of the leadership is replying. The others have requested your approval in triggering the Pre-Apocalypse.β
βItβs that bad now? Is the Michael still with us?β
βYes, Father. Barely. They are drawing fire away from us as much as theyβ¦β
They stumbled toward the door. The ship shook as klaxons sounded. A young male voice came over the speakers.β
βWeβve been breached! I say again, we’ve been breaβ¦β
The speakers went silent.
βFather, you have to get to your escape pod!β
βYou go. I need to stay with the ship. There are things I must do when a ship is about to be ransacked.β
βBut Father, they will be boardingβ¦β
βI know, I know. Go. Your services are needed elsewhere. Remember, you have been chosen. Iβll try to make it, but I have to finish my tasks. Now go.β
Theodre rushed out the door, pausing to look back at Provious, then the doors hissed shut.
βGood kid that one. Sheβll make an excellent angel.β
Provious calmly walked to the window and again, looked out at the mostly green planet.
βThousands of years of work. All the terraforming and guidance and preparing. So unfortunate.β
He watched as grey egg-shaped escape pods shot out from the ship towards the planet. If they made it to the lower atmosphere, they would open in a blast of splendor and light, and would be welcomed as angels sent to purge the world of demons. This belief had been instilled in the populace ages ago. It was rumored that Saint Adamis himself had chosen this planet a thousand years ago as one of the twelve to begin. He had established himself as a great Father of the war, leading more successful operations than any other of the higher clergy, but he saw that no one was winning. The Californs had many aliens as allies. Adamis came up with something to give them the eventual edge. The plan he devised was to find lifeless worlds and make them into believer worlds that would give all to the cause. Already seven worlds had come to fruition, and the war was quickly tipping in their favor.
βProvious to Captain Grange.β
βHere Father! Whatβs the plan? Can the Adamis make it out?β
βNo. I believe our last act will be as a heavenly sign to accompany the arrival of angels.β
βUnderstood. Michael out.β
The door behind him exploded and skidded across the floor a few feet to his right, crashing into the wall under the window with a crunch. He did not flinch, nor stopped looking out at the descending pods.
βFather Provious! We meet at last.β
βGeneral Paige Remanth. Iβm surprised to see you so close to the action.β
βOnce I had confirmation that you were on board, staring out a window, I had to make sure I addressed you.β
βAh, so you would come to make sure I am treated fairly then, out of a soldierβs respect for a worthy foe.β
βHardly. I wanted to be the one to shoot you myself.β
βI see. I take comfort then in the fact that I did so well in my tasks to warrant your direct attention. God will be pleased.β
βWell, youβll certainly have a chance to find out. Turn β¦ around.β
Father Provious, his hands still clasped in front of him, tapped a cuff link on his bright white jacket. A deep rumble started and quickly began rising in intensity.
βWhatβs that?β
βEngine overload, General. In a few seconds, too fast for you to get out, this ship will join the Michael in an explosion that will be seen all over the surface. Many will see it and recognize the new star in the East. The star that announces the arrival of angels.β
βBut you havenβt sent your artificial Jesus yet. You can’t destroy that. Your people put a lot of resources into its construction.β
βIt’s a setback no doubt, but weβll get one down there eventually. First, we need to make sure the people below keep believing enough to drive you and yours back into space, when you eventually land that is.β
βYou know we donβt operate that way. We do not interfere in anyoneβs development. We merely observe andβ¦β
βYeah, sure. You donβt have anyone down there right now, trying to undermine Godβs plan with your teachings.β
βI donβt know about such things. I just know Iβm to make sure that people like you become extinct.β
βWell, let me help with at least me. Saint Adamis, guide me home.β
At that, the ship erupted.
As the escape pods dropped through the clouds, they exploded, revealing their winged passengers, who soared majestically down to the awestruck locals below.
And the sky lit up, a new star flickering gently in the night.
Hundreds of thousands dropped to their knees, and began to pray.
5 years down the road. Jim have you written a larger work based on this story? It truly is a worthy tale. Thank you!
No, I have not. Here and again, I’ll get a snippet of something pop in my head, like maybe just blasting out a novel on Adamis’ life himself or something, but then I realize the best I have is just Dune Lite and it dissipates. π
And thank you so much for the compliment! I should let that motivate me to do something with it, and with other things.
Bonus points for the title alone. π Good tale.
Thank you! Random titles that pop in one’s head can be such a fun place to start. π
I am now going by Jim Brown and the link on this profile is where I’m at.
God Almighty! Sister Margaret in sixth grade taught me that there was a war raging between heaven an hell, between good and evil. How right she was. Great concept. Better story.
Thanks much! That title popped in my head thirty some years ago and stuck with me. A couple years ago, I decided to finally sit down and see what the heck it was all about. Worked out well and does suggest something I could probably expand on. We’ll see. Thanks again!
Nice world building you’ve got there, and yes, I mean in both senses of the word. Good work!
Thank you! I think this is the kind of thing that’ll play out one day, unless something out there gets ahead of us and takes our toys away. π
God save us from religion … π
Ha! I like to randomly tell people ‘Thank God for separation of church and state’. It never gets old, to me at least. π